Method and apparatus for simultaneously notching opposite edges of product pieces



Aug. 9, 1966 R. D. ANDERSON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY NOTCHING Filed April 26. 1965 OPPOSITE EDGES OF PRODUCT PIECES 4 Sheets-Sheet l Aug..9, 1966 R. D. ANDERSON 3,264,913

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY NOTCHING OPPOSITE EDGES OF PRODUCT PIECES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26. 1965 Aug. 9, 1966 R. D. ANDERSON 3,264,913

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY NOTCHING OPPOSITE EDGES 0]? PRODUCT PIECES Filed April 26, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 9, 1966 R. D. ANDERSON 3,264,913

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY NOTCHING OPPOSITE EDGES OF PRODUCT PIECES Filed April 26. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.5.

United States Patent 3 264,913 METHQD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANE- OUSLY NOTCHING UPPUSITE EDGES 0F PRGD- UCT PiEClES Richard 1). Anderson, Neenah, Wis., assignor to Kimberly- Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 450,676 8 Claims. (Cl. 8324) My invention relates to catamenial napkins and more particularly to internal pads for such napkins.

A catamenial napkin may, for example, comprise an internal pad surrounded by a wrapping of coarse, thin fabric. The fabric may be made of threads that are either crosslaid on each other without weaving or threads that are interwoven, with the threads preferably being spaced appreciable distances apart to readily pass body fluid. The internal pad may, for example, be made of a plurality of layers of fluff of haphazardly disposed paper fibers and may also include layers of paper tissue on the outer surfaces. Such pads have been proposed in the past to include rounded contoured side edges for fitting the thighs of the wearer, and these side edges have been provided by simply cutting out the side edge portions of an original, rectangular, elongate pad blank by means of simple reciprocable knives or dies. These knives or dies, however, due to their direct, straight through cut, have provided edges on the pads that are quite sharp and abrupt so that the edges, although covered by the napkin wrapper of fabric and fitting the thighs of the wearer, nevertheless are quite abrasive and chafing to the wearer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for cutting the contoured side edges of such a pad. More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a cutter which has a longitudinal motion and thereby a slicing action as it is being moved through the pad so as to provide relatively soft contoured pad edges.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, devices and methods to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated objects, and such other objects, as will appear from the following description of a preferred form of the apparatus and a preferred method for cutting the pads, the method and apparatus being described particularly in connection with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for cutting out the side edges of a catamenial napkin pad according to the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pad after it has been cut by the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a portion of the apparatus; and,

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but on an enlarged scale and of just a fragment of the apparatus.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

Referring now to the darwings and in particular to FIG. 1, the cutting apparatus of the invention may be seen to comprise, in general, a vertically reciprocable cutoff knife 10 which coacts with a fixed knife 11 for cutting off catamenial napkin pads 12 from a continuous horizontal length 13 of pad material. A plate 14 is provided on which a cut pad 12 falls after being severed from the material 13 by the knives 141 and 11, and a pusher 15' embraces the plate 14. The plate 14 and pusher 15 recipro ate together so as to place a pad 12 over a horizont-al lower belt 16 and below an upper belt 17. The belts 16 and 17 move intermittently; and, while the belts 3,2643 13' Patented August 9, 1966 ICC are at rest, the upper belt 17 descends so as to grip a pad 12 between the belts 16 and 17.

The cutting apparatus comprises also a pair of cylindrical cutter knives 18 and 19 which are rotatable and are also axially movable. The belts 16 and 17, when moving, transfer a pad 12 to a position between the knives 18 and 19, and the pad is temporarily held by means of a movable platen 20 clamping the pad between itself and a fixed platen 21. With the pad being so immobilized, the knives 18 and 19 descend and cut round indentations 22 in the sides of the pad. The cutting apparatus comprises also a pair of suction tubes 23 and 24 extending into the cylindrical knives 18 and 19 for removing the severed side portions of the pad provided by the cutting action of the knives 18 and 19.

A pad 12 (see FIG. 2), cut with the illustrated cutting apparatus, is an elongated element having a relatively thick central region 12a and relatively thin ends 1211 and 120. The pad may comprise a plurality of layers of so-called fluff made of a multitude of haphazardly disposed paper fibers and may also have a number of layers, particularly on the outer surf-ace of the pad of paper tissue. The pad is made relatively thick in its central region so that it may absorb substantial amounts of body fluid, and the round indentations 22 are provided in the sides of the pad for receiving the thighs of the wearer for the sake of comfort. Each of the pads 12 is intended to be encased and wrapped in a permeable fabric by any suitable mechanism, such as, for example, that disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 361,436, filed April 21, 1964.

A horizontal table 25 is provided for supporting the continuous length 13 of pad material. The pad material is provided on its edges with rounded pad ends 12a and 12b of reduced thickness by any suitable preforming means or mechanism (not shown), and the pad material is moved lengthwise along the table 25 by any suitable mechanism (not shown). The lower knife 11 is suitably fixed with respect to the table 25, and the top knife 11) is movably carried by any suitable mechanism so that it has a shear cut'with the knife 11. The movement of the continuous length 13 of pad material is so synchronized with the movement of the'top knife 10 that individual pads 12 are severed from the continuous length 13 of pad material and fall onto the plate 14.

The plate 14 is movably disposed by means of any suitable mechanism, and the pusher 15 has a slot through which the plate 14 extends and is fixed on the ends of side rods 26 actuated by any suitable mechanism.

The lower belt 16 is in the form of an endless loop and is movably mounted over the platen 21, being dis posed in a surface indentation in the platen, and over a plurality of rolls such as the roll 27. The platen 21 is mounted on a horizontal table 29. The upper belt 17 is also in endless form and extends through an indentation provided in the lower surface of the platen 20 and over a plurality of supporting rolls 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35. The roll 30 is supported by means of arms 36 pivoted on the axis of the roll 35. Any suitable driving mechanism may be utilized for intermittently driving the belts 16 and 17, and the arms 36 are moved synchronously with the movement of the belts 16 and 17 so that when a pad 12 is positioned on the lower belt 16 and on the platen 21, the arms 36 swing downwardly so as to grip the pad between the belts 16 and 17.

Each of the knives 1 and 19 is supported from a disc 37 which is fixed on the end of a shaft 38. The knives 118 and 19 are of such diameter and the shafts 38 are so located that the edge of each knife, looking down- Wardly on the knife in plan, crosses over the adjacent side edge of the pad 12 located between the knives, at spaced points on the adjacent side edge .of the pad; and

the knives have clearance with respect to the belts 16 and 17. Each shaft 38 is coaxialily and rotatably mounted in a tube 39, and the tube extends through the table 29 at right angles to the table and is reciprocably disposed with respect to the table by means of a bushing 40'. Each of the shafts 38 has a pulley 41 fixed on its lower end which may be driven from a motor (not shown) by means of a V-belt (not shown), for example. The two tubes 39 for the two knives 18 and 19 are connected together by means of a yoke 42, and the yoke may be vertically moved so as to simultaneously vertically move the two knives 18 and 19.

The movable platen 20 is fixed with respect to rods 43 which extend through the table 29 and are connected together by means of a yoke 44. A cross yoke 45 is positioned between the tubes 39 and is fixed with respect to the tubes and carries a rod 46 extending through the yoke 44. A washer 47 is adjustably positioned on the rod 46, being held from movement downwardly on the rod by means of a nut 48. The arrangement is such that the tubes 39 and yoke 45 move upwardly together, and the washer 47, which is on the rod 46 carried by the yoke 45, contacts the yoke 44 and raises the platen 20. The washer 47 is of yieldable material so as to reduce the impact of the washer 47 on the yoke 44 and so as to reduce the resultant noise.

The suction pipes 23 and 24 extend respectively into the cylindrical knives 18 and 19. These pipes are provided with air scoops 49 and 50 that open within the cylindrical knives at their portions most adjacent to the belt 16, and the pipes 23 and 24 are connected with any suitable suction source (not shown).

The platen 21 is provided with arcuate indentations 51 and 52 for receiving the edges of the knives 18 and 19. The lower edges of the knives 18 and .19 are sharpened as illustrated so that they may act as cutting edges, and these cutting edges enter into the indentations as the knives 18 and 19 move downwardly. A plurality of relatively small diameter air openings 53 are formed within the platen 21 and terminate at the bottoms of the indentations 51 and 52, and these air openings are connected to conduits 54 that in turn are connected to .a supply of air under pressure.

In operation, the continuous length of pad material 13 is severed by the knives and 11 into the individual pads 12 which are transferred onto the lower belt 16 by means of the pusher and plate 14 which reciprocate together in this transfer. The plate 14 is withdrawn after the transfer of a pad 12, with the pusher 15 remaining in its fully extended position, so that the pad is positioned onto the lower belt 16. The upper belt 17 is then moved downwardly by movement of its arms 36 so as to grip the pad 12 between the two belts. During this transfer of a pad 12, the two belts are stationary; and, after the pad has been gripped between the belts, the belts are driven so as to move the pad 12 to a position between the knives 18 and 19, and the belts then cease motion.

With the pad 12 being positioned between the two knives 18 and 19, the knives together with their supporting tubes 39 are lowered while the knives are being continuously rotated. The initial descending movement of the tubes 39 causes the platen to be moved downwardly so as to grip the pad between it and the platen 21, the descending movement of the platen 20 being by virtue of the interconnection between the platen 20 and tubes 39 which is provided by the yokes 44 and 45 and the rod 46. The cutting edges of the knives 18 and 19 during their descending movement cut through the side edges of the pad 12 and provide the round indentations 22 and thereby provide contoured side edges of the pad to fit the thighs of the wearer. The severed edge portions of the .pad 12 are carried away through the suction pipes 23 and 24; and, generally after the pad has been so cut, the layers of the cut portions disassociate from each other. Air discharges through the passages 53 into the indentations 5 1 and 52, and this air movement carries the lowermost plies of the out side portions of the pad upwardly into the scoops 49 and 50 of the suction pipes 23 and 24, thus assuring that all cut portions of the pads are removed from within the cylindrical knives 18 and 19. After the cutting action of the knives 18 and 19 has been completed, the knives 18 and 19 and their supporting tubes 39 are raised, and this raising movement also raises the platen 20 by virtue of the yokes 44 and 45, the rod 46 and the yieldable washer 47, so that the finished pad 12 may be removed from between the knives 18 and 19 by further movement of the belts 16 and 17.

The rotary cutting action of the cylindrical knives 18 and 19 provide cylindrical, contoured side edges of the pads 12 that are relatively soft as compared to the corresponding side edges of such a pad that would be provided by the action of a simple die descending and cutting the side edges without any rotary motion. As above described, the pads 12 are intended to be wrapped in a suitable wrapper; and, due to the slicing action of the knives 18 and 19, the abrasive action on the thighs of the wearer by the contoured side edges as so wrapped does not occur that could be expected if the pads 12 were contoured on their sides by simple non-rotary die action.

I wish it to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific constructions, arrangements and devices shown and described, except only insofar as the claims may be so limited, as it will be understood to those skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of making a catamenial napkin pad, the steps of holding such a pad in position for cutting and cutting out each side edge portion of the pad by applying a knife to the pad and moving the knife through the thickness of the pad and in a curved path that extends from the side edge of the pad inwardly of the pad and then back to the same side edge so as to thereby provide curved side edges to the pad for fitting the thighs of the wearer.

2. In a method of making a catamenial napkin pad, the steps of positioning such a pad on a horizontal support, and cutting out each side edge of the pad by applying a knife to the pad and moving the knife downwardly through the pad and in a round path intersecting the same side edge of the pad at spaced points so as to thereby provide round contoured side edges to the pad for fitting the thighs of the wearer.

3. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a support on which a pad may be positioned, a knife, means for mounting said knife for rotation about an axis that extends at an angle to said support and at a radius that intersects with a side edge of a pad positioned on the support, and means for moving said knife in the direction of its said axis and for simultaneously rotating the knife about said axis so that said knife passes through the pad in a round path and severs a side edge portion from the pad to thereby provide a round contoured side edge to the pad for fitting the thigh of the wearer.

4. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a support on which a pad may be positioned, a pair of knives, means for mounting each of said knives for rotation about an axis that extends substantially at right angles to said support and at a radius that crosses the adjacent side edge of a pad positioned on the support, and means for moving each of said knives in the direction of its axis and for simultaneously rotating the knife about its axis so that the knife passes through the pad in a round path and severs a side edge portion from the pad to thereby provide round contoured side edges to the pad for fitting the thighs of the wearer.

5. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a support on which the pad may be positioned, a cylindrical knife having its axis disposed at angles to said support and so located that the knife crosses the adjacent side edge of the pad, and means for simultaneously rotating said knife about its axis and for moving the knife along its axis so that the knife passes through the pad and severs a side edge portion from the pad to thereby provide a round contoured side edge to the pad for fitting the thigh of the wearer.

6. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a support on which the pad may be positioned, a cylindrical knife disposed on each side of said support and crossing the adjacent side edge of a pad on the support, each of said knives having its axis disposed substantially at right angles to said support, and means for simultaneously rotating both of said knives about their axes and moving the knives along their said axes so that the knives pass through the pad and sever side edge portions from the pad to thereby provide round contoured side edges to the pad for fitting the thighs of the wearer.

7. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a pair of belts extending in fiace-to-face relationship between which a pad may be carried, a pair of cylindrical knives mounted on axes extending at right angles to said belts and on opposite sides of the belts so that the knives cross the side edges of a .pad between the belts and clear theedges of the belts, and means for simultaneously rotating said knives on their respective axes and for moving the knives along their respective axes so that the knives cut out side edge portions of the pad and thereby provide round contoured side edges to the pad for fitting the thighs of the wearer.

8. In apparatus for making a catamenial napkin pad, a platen having a supporting surface on which the pad may be positioned, a pair of cylindrical knives disposed on opposite sides of said platen on axes that extend at angles to said supporting surface, said knives having such diameters and said axes being so spaced from the platen that the knives cross adjacent side edges of a pad located on the platen, said platen being provided with indentations in its said surface for receiving the cutting edges of said knives, means for moving said knives in the direction of their axes and for simultaneously rotating the knives about their axes so that the knives pass through the pad and into said indentations and sever side edge portions from the pad to thereby provide round contoured edges, a vacuum pipe extending into each of said knives for drawing off the severed side edge portions of the .pads, and a source of air under pressure connected to the bottoms of said indentations for assisting in the removal of the severed side edge portions to said vacuum pipes.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,856,154 5/1932 Capocefialo 83-471 FOREIGN PATENTS 310,706 5/ 1929 Great Britain. 423,605 2/ 1935 Great Britain. 1,047,983 12/1958 Germany.

327,907 3/ 1958 Switzerland.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

L. B. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A METHOD OF MAKING A CATAMENIAL NAPKIN PAD, THE STEPS OF HOLDING SUCH A PAD IN POSITION FOR CUTTING AND CUTTING OUT EACH SIDE EDGE PORTION OF THE PAD BY APPLYING A KNIFE TO THE PAD AND MOVING THE KNIFE THROUGH THE THICKNESS OF THE PAD AND IN A CURVED PATH THAT EXTENDS FROM THE SIDE EDGE OF THE PAD INWARDLY OF THE PAD AND THEN BACK TO THE SAME SIDE EDGE SO AS TO THEREBY PROVIDE CURVED SIDE EDGES TO THE PAD FOR FITTING THE THIGHS OF THE WEARER.
 3. IN APPARATUS FOR MAKING A CATAMENIAL NAPKIN PAD, A SUPPORT ON WHICH A PAD MAY BE POSITIONED, A KNIFE, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID KNIFE FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS THAT EXTENDS AT AN ANGLE TO SAID SUPPORT AND AT A RADIUS THAT 